Route profile
LGA→DTW
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from New York to Detroit, 502 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 27% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 12,495 flights. How this is calculated
LGA → DTW arrives on time 80.9% of the time; the return trip, DTW → LGA, arrives on time 80.0% of the time.
LGA → DTW spends 32.4 minutes on the ground on a 502-mile trip: 22.6 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at LGA and 9.8 minutes from touchdown to gate at DTW.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
Every airline on this route performs about the same, a narrower carrier gap than 98% of 2,692 comparable routes.
Delta Air Lines (81.2% on time) and Republic Airways (80.6%) are close together here.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 2,692 in the comparison.
Why LGA → DTW flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
LGA → DTW cancelled 384 of 12,495 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 33. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 59.1% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 55 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 384 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
227 cancellations, 59.1% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
87 cancellations, 22.7% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
70 cancellations, 18.2% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
384 coded cancellations were recorded on LGA → DTW; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
47 min late
against a median of 11 min early
Percentiles over 12,495 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at DTW after arriving from LGA.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 30% | High risk |
| 45 min | 19% | High risk |
| 60 min | 13% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 8.3% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 5.5% | Some risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 3.07% of the time and diverts 0.08% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 12,101 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 47 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 12,495 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
LGA → DTW flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 91.3% of the time, against 70.2% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 21.1 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (LGA).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 7.9 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 2.4 points.
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
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| 9 PM–10 PM |
On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 65–69
- 70–74
- 75–79
- 80–84
- 85–89
- 90–94
- 95–99
- Fewer than 120 flights, not scored
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · On time is arrival within 15 minutes of schedule. Cells round to whole percentages; the table shows one decimal.
No slot is named best or worst: too few reach 500 flights. Departures before 6 AM and after 10 PM (157 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.
View as tableHide table
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 AM–7 AM | 91.7% on time213 flights | 93.8% on time216 flights | 96.3% on time220 flights | 95.8% on time219 flights | 91.7% on time218 flights | 90.0% on time188 flights | 88.4% on time194 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 37 flights, too few to score | 32 flights, too few to score | 31 flights, too few to score | 31 flights, too few to score | 33 flights, too few to score | 8 flights, too few to score | 16 flights, too few to score |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 68 flights, too few to score | 70 flights, too few to score | 57 flights, too few to score | 70 flights, too few to score | 71 flights, too few to score | 32 flights, too few to score | 49 flights, too few to score |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 89.8% on time214 flights | 91.0% on time216 flights | 92.9% on time214 flights | 86.9% on time214 flights | 85.0% on time213 flights | 88.7% on time196 flights | 86.9% on time187 flights |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 40 flights, too few to score | 30 flights, too few to score | 39 flights, too few to score | 40 flights, too few to score | 40 flights, too few to score | 49 flights, too few to score | 41 flights, too few to score |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 24 flights, too few to score | 25 flights, too few to score | 26 flights, too few to score | 26 flights, too few to score | 26 flights, too few to score | 31 flights, too few to score | 23 flights, too few to score |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 83.8% on time201 flights | 82.6% on time208 flights | 92.0% on time201 flights | 85.3% on time198 flights | 79.8% on time199 flights | 83.9% on time150 flights | 84.5% on time200 flights |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 59 flights, too few to score | 60 flights, too few to score | 61 flights, too few to score | 62 flights, too few to score | 59 flights, too few to score | 87 flights, too few to score | 51 flights, too few to score |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 72.0% on time131 flights | 70.8% on time136 flights | 74.6% on time136 flights | 73.8% on time135 flights | 79.7% on time126 flights | 23 flights, too few to score | 119 flights, too few to score |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 78.4% on time168 flights | 77.6% on time163 flights | 78.1% on time161 flights | 76.1% on time160 flights | 74.4% on time162 flights | 78.6% on time128 flights | 76.9% on time177 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 93 flights, too few to score | 94 flights, too few to score | 92 flights, too few to score | 92 flights, too few to score | 93 flights, too few to score | 56 flights, too few to score | 89 flights, too few to score |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 74.8% on time170 flights | 78.0% on time169 flights | 75.3% on time167 flights | 72.4% on time167 flights | 74.4% on time168 flights | 86.0% on time227 flights | 71.3% on time170 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 32 flights, too few to score | 36 flights, too few to score | 31 flights, too few to score | 35 flights, too few to score | 36 flights, too few to score | 44 flights, too few to score | 35 flights, too few to score |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 64 flights, too few to score | 59 flights, too few to score | 66 flights, too few to score | 62 flights, too few to score | 69 flights, too few to score | 30 flights, too few to score | 64 flights, too few to score |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 67.5% on time181 flights | 74.0% on time182 flights | 67.8% on time182 flights | 65.9% on time179 flights | 69.6% on time172 flights | 22 flights, too few to score | 65.2% on time177 flights |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 71.9% on time163 flights | 79.4% on time162 flights | 69.7% on time163 flights | 68.6% on time159 flights | 69.7% on time156 flights | 58 flights, too few to score | 71.2% on time164 flights |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 91.0% on time from 153 flights
- 6 AM: 92.6% on time from 1,468 flights
- 7 AM: 91.4% on time from 188 flights
- 8 AM: 86.6% on time from 417 flights
- 9 AM: 88.7% on time from 1,454 flights
- 10 AM: 89.5% on time from 279 flights
- 11 AM: 82.8% on time from 181 flights
- 12 PM: 84.6% on time from 1,357 flights
- 1 PM: 86.5% on time from 439 flights
- 2 PM: 75.1% on time from 806 flights
- 3 PM: 77.1% on time from 1,119 flights
- 4 PM: 73.7% on time from 609 flights
- 5 PM: 76.5% on time from 1,238 flights
- 6 PM: 67.1% on time from 249 flights
- 7 PM: 75.5% on time from 414 flights
- 8 PM: 68.9% on time from 1,095 flights
- 9 PM: 72.7% on time from 1,025 flights
- 10 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why LGA → DTW runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for LGA → DTW. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on LGA → DTW, at 40.1%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 91.3% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 70.2%.
How this route holds up in bad weather
July 2023 – July 2026
The harder-hit end is the one the flight leaves from, where a cancellation keeps it from departing at all. Bad weather cancels 4.1 times the normal rate at LGA against 2.3 times at DTW. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: LGA 9.0% against 2.2%, DTW 2.5% against 1.1%. Flights that did leave LGA in bad weather arrived on time 63.6% of the time, against 80.9% in normal hours.
Bad weather and normal hours at the airports
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Departures from | LGA | DTW |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 9.0% | 2.5% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 2.2% | 1.1% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 63.6% | 66.5% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 80.9% | 81.6% |
| Departures in bad weather | 56,339 | 53,809 |
Of the carriers on this route, Delta Air Lines (6.5% cancelled against 9.9% for the other carriers at LGA) cancelled the fewest departures from LGA in bad weather and Republic Airways (12.4% cancelled against 8.3% for the other carriers at LGA) the most.
This route’s airlines in bad weather at LGA
All departures from LGA| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 10,841 | 6.5%below the others | 9.9% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,577 | 8.9%about level | 8.4% |
| Republic Airways | 18,154 | 12.4%above the others | 8.3% |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from LGA and DTW, to any destination, in hours the weather report called bad. The airline rows count each carrier’s departures from LGA on every route.
Weather source and limits. In full: LGA (airlines), DTW, What Weather Costs Each Airport, Who Cancels More When the Weather Turns, Airports That Change Places When Weather Turns.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 6,109 | 81.2% | 2.14% | -11 min | 8.2% |
| Spirit Airlines | 3,260 | 80.9% | 3.96% | -13 min | 9.5% |
| Republic Airways | 2,983 | 80.6% | 4.12% | -9 min | 7.6% |
Delta Air Lines flew 49.5% of the 12,352 flights listed. Republic Airways cancelled 4.12% of its flights here against 2.14% for Delta Air Lines.
Carriers on this route performed within a couple of percentage points of each other.
Other ways to fly New York to Detroit
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LGA→DTW this route New York to Detroit | 12,495 | 80.9% | 3.07% | -11 min | 56 |
| EWR→DTW Newark to Detroit | 10,380 | 79.7% | 3.67% | -11 min | 50 |
LGA → DTW is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 80.9% on time, against 79.7% for EWR → DTW.
Flying to DTW from the New York area? Compare LGA, EWR, JFK for DTW, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
DL1231 (6:00 AM) arrived on time 94.0% of the time, 29.7 points more often than DL1014 (9:00 PM) at 64.3%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 8.0 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 79.8%
- Feb: 83.4%
- Mar: 81.8%
- Apr: 81.3%
- May: 79.5%
- Jun: 73.7%
- Jul: 72.2%
- Aug: 82.6%
- Sep: 87.5%
- Oct: 85.3%
- Nov: 84.4%
- Dec: 78.6%
July is historically the weakest month and September the strongest, a spread of 15.3 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 70.2% from 368 flights
- August 2023: 87.7% from 381 flights
- September 2023: 81.2% from 366 flights
- October 2023: 90.9% from 384 flights
- November 2023: 91.1% from 371 flights
- December 2023: 91.9% from 359 flights
- January 2024: 82.3% from 342 flights
- February 2024: 90.0% from 316 flights
- March 2024: 88.2% from 323 flights
- April 2024: 81.0% from 343 flights
- May 2024: 78.4% from 355 flights
- June 2024: 76.7% from 336 flights
- July 2024: 72.5% from 356 flights
- August 2024: 70.4% from 350 flights
- September 2024: 92.4% from 368 flights
- October 2024: 90.6% from 383 flights
- November 2024: 88.6% from 367 flights
- December 2024: 78.7% from 356 flights
- January 2025: 75.0% from 320 flights
- February 2025: 77.0% from 272 flights
- March 2025: 85.2% from 319 flights
- April 2025: 82.9% from 270 flights
- May 2025: 75.4% from 312 flights
- June 2025: 69.4% from 304 flights
- July 2025: 71.2% from 339 flights
- August 2025: 89.1% from 333 flights
- September 2025: 88.7% from 365 flights
- October 2025: 74.1% from 386 flights
- November 2025: 73.3% from 371 flights
- December 2025: 64.2% from 355 flights
- January 2026: 82.1% from 349 flights
- February 2026: 82.1% from 324 flights
- March 2026: 71.3% from 333 flights
- April 2026: 80.3% from 331 flights
- May 2026: 85.6% from 270 flights
- June 2026: 74.8% from 255 flights
- July 2026: 76.3% from 263 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 78.4% against 80.1% in the 12 months before — declining by 1.7 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 12,495 LGA → DTW flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed